Larry Shenk, Vice President of Alumni Relations, shares his notes, quotes and anecdotes from the world of baseball.

Hamels Dazzles

Cool ColeWhat a night at Citizens Bank Park last night. Cole starts the game with four straight strikeouts, getting the crowd into it right away even though the start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 32 minutes.

As the game progressed, the fans got into it more and more. You could feel the electricity in the air. As Cole would start his windup, the crowd would be quiet. Then, they’d roar as out after out was recorded. Every time he got two strikes on the batter, the crowd would stand and start roaring. As Paul Hagen said in the Daily News today, the fans were “living and dying with every pitch.”

“When you get 40,000 fans behind you 100 percent, that excites you. That’s the kind of adrenaline you need,” Hamels said in Hagen’s article.

The crowd even booed home plate umpire Tony Randazzo on some of his ball-strike calls. Imagine that.

With the kind of stuff Cole has, a no-hitter could very well be in his future. It takes not only perfect pitching but luck and generally a defensive gem or two. Chase Utley’s sliding stop of a second-inning ground ball was a gem that appeared larger and larger as the game progressed.

Lefty Steve Carlton, who won 329 games in his 15-year Hall of Fame career, never pitched a no-no. He did have six one-hitters.

Interleague PlayThe Toronto Blue Jays limp in tomorrow for the start of interleague play for the Phillies. Limp in that the Jays have nine players on the disabled list, including their closer, #1 starter, another starting pitcher, their starting catcher and a starting outfielder. That is difficult.

Ten years ago the Phillies and Blue Jays met in the first interleague game. The Phillies won.

Who was the winning pitcher for the Phillies?

Winner will receive a Cole Hamels autographed baseball. First person to e-mail the correct answer gets the prize.

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